Both Sides of Charlottesville Confederate Statue Debate Prepare for Trial

Those fighting to keep a pair of Confederate statues in Downtown Charlottesville say they have spent $500,000 in attorney fees to keep the legal fight going. The case is trial bound.

Tuesday, September 3rd 2019, 6:12 PM EDT

Reported by Henry Graff

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) -
Those fighting to keep a pair of Confederate statues in Downtown Charlottesville say they have spent $500,000 in attorney fees to keep the legal fight going. The case is trial bound.

Half a million dollars sounds like a lot but the spokesperson for the plaintiffs, in this case, say they had to spend it because the city put up such a fight over the statue debate.

On Tuesday afternoon, a Circuit Court judge held a pretrial conference hearing to figure out what issues will go to trial. First, the judge still has to rule on if the city can use an equal protection claim.

The city says the state statute on war memorials is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment. Remember, the judge did rule the statues are memorials and protected by state law.

So the trial will be about encroachment damages when the statues were covered with tarps and then the issue of attorney fees. The trial will start on September 11 and it's expected to last three days. Both sides say they are prepared to put up a fight in court.